A Visit From My Uncle The Search Engine Guru

Tonight my Uncle Tommy (the search engine guru) and Cousin Cherri just drove into town here near Fort Walton Beach, Florida all the way from New Haven Connecticut! They just spent two days in a car, with 23 actual driving hours. My uncle said that would have flown, but he hasn't gone on a road trip in a long time, however he said this one was enough to remind him to fly next time.

Tommy started and SEO firm, Keyword Perfomance back in late 2003 or early 2004 and has acceled in his chosen carrear. I'm not at liberty to discuss certain matters, but I will say that the man knows his SEO and I am proud to be his nephew. I really look up to him. He is a self-taught man just like myself. But any "self-taught" man knows that he learns from everyone he possibly can around him and I am not exception.

I'm probably going to bug the hell out of Tommy while he's on vacation here by picking his brain and get every possible seo tip from him that I can! I know he is supposed to be on vacation and away from work, but I just can't help but to talk about search engine optmization with him. He's a work-a-holic much like myself, so I'm sure he won't mind too much.

I am following in Tommy's footsteps as I aspire to understand and dominate the search engine's as he does. I also plan to do as much SEO business as he is currently doing within the next couple of years. Until I am at the level he is at I will be working with the smaller companies and one man businesses with smaller budgets. Even once our business, Teknek Web Services, gets to the level of Keyword Performance, we will probably always make some room for the little guy and smaller businesses because we know the pain and feel the struggles that all smaller busineses deal with.

So if you want to take advantage of a growing SEO company and get the top level services that Fortune 500 companies get, do business with us here at Teknek. We have the personal knowledge and top level contacts to produce big results for your business and your website.

Scott
Pensacola Website Design

The Difference Between SEO and SEM

If you have been Internet marketing for any period of time or if you've read any of my blog articles than I'm sure you know that SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization". However, another term that I haven't really mentioned that much is "Search Engine Marketing". You may be thinking to yourself, "aren't these two the same thing?". My answer is "NO, they are not." So what exactly is the difference between SEO and SEM?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of adjusting your site's content, code, and getting links to help increase your natural search engine results. Search engine marketing (SEM) deals mainly with the pay-per-click side of search engines and ad buying in general. Pay per click is where you pay a certain amount of money for each click generated through an ad or link to your website.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. With SEM you can literally get your website on the first page of search engine results within minutes of starting your campaign. With SEO the process can take several months before you start seeing any results. But the downside the SEM and PPC is that you are going to have to pay for every single click you receive from these sponsored listings. With SEO, once you get to the top, every click that comes through those links are FREE!

A complete marketing strategy normally includes a balance of both SEO and SEM. Using pay per click methods can be amazing, but if not done properly you can loose a lot of money very quickly. Dollar for dollar I still feel the SEO is the best of these two. Even if you have to spend a couple thousand dollars and several months waiting to get your site ranked high, once you do you will reap the benefits for a long time to come. With SEM, once you quit paying your results are gone. You could easily spend up a couple thousand dollars in no time with PPC depending on your market.

Long term usually beats short term. One thing that I do like PPC for is to test out different landing pages. I don't mean landing pages in the 'old-way' with hardly any content and no where to go except one link, I mean a quality landing page that is part of a complete site (you don't want to suffer the dreaded Google Slap.) By utilizing SEM and PPC you can see which key-phrases and pages work the best to maximize your ROI (return on investment) and then spend your time or money focusing on natural SEO for key-phrases and pages that work!

Scott
Pensacola Website Design

Graphics Design: Layer Mask Basics - Prevent Painting on an Image Layer

If you know anything about Photoshop, then you’ve at least HEARD about layer masks and how they are used hide or show certain parts of an image.

Being that I was self taught, it took me a long time to figure out the importance of using layer masks versus erasing part of the layer. (Keep in mind that I am extremely slow, haha, so maybe you have/will figure out layer masks sooner than I did)

You see, when you erase parts of an image, followed by 100 other steps, and then you realize "shoot, I want part of that layer back but I erased it", well folks, you are out of luck!  The “undo button” (my favorite button in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE) will only go back a certain amount of steps! The only way to get part of the layer back is to reinsert the original layer into your layers palette, and start all over from scratch!
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The Struggles Of a New Internet Business

Starting a new business can be a very rewarding task. It can also be a very difficult process to get going, especially in a competitive market like website design and Internet marketing. We offer more than one service, which is good because it leaves more options available, but we make sure that we only offer the services that we are best at. Still even with more than one service being offered, the struggle of getting a good client base established can be a frustrating process.

Even though our business is new, we are not new to the business. Fritz and I have about ten years of experience each in our respective fields. We actually do currently have a lot of website design work because everybody wants a website, but the marketing side of the business is a little slow because not everybody realizes that they need marketing. It's only a matter of time before those with new websites realize that just designing a site, getting a hosting plan, and throwing that site up on a server is just not enough.

Most people in Internet businesses start in a similar way. They focus all their energy and attention on the design of the website. They become so engrossed in the design, look, and feel of the site that they either forget about, or put off the website marketing. I hate to upset all you designers out there, including my partner, but SEO and marketing a website is probably the most important part! Okay, some people may disagree with that statement, but think about it for a minute.

You can have the biggest, flashiest, most beautiful website in the world, but if people can't find it it's useless! I believe my partner Fritz said something about how it's like building a huge, fancy gas station in the middle of the desert with no cars and no roads little to it! There are several other metaphors that I've read on this topic, but they all boil down to the same point. The point is without proper website marketing, you are doomed to fail.

On the other hand you could have an ugly looking site that is poorly designed, poorly laid out, but if it is properly optimized your website could be flooded with traffic and sales. Google-bot and the other search engine robots don't care about how your site looks aesthetically. They care about the coding of the site, the content in that site, high quality links, and several other factors that have nothing to do with beauty.  In business what matters at the end of the day is sales.

Of course we strive to attain a balance between 'beauty' and 'brawn'. I'm using 'brawn' to refer to the positive optimization or the 'muscles' of the site. The 'beauty' of the site is the design layout, the color scheme, the graphics, the navigation, and the overall 'feel' of the website. The end goal is to have a website that is has a professional appearance, is easy to navigate, and ranks well for its' important keywords or key-phrases rather.

We anticipate to have a steadily increasing amount of marketing work as our business matures. Many businesses struggle in their beginning, but those struggles don't have to last long. In this economy some businesses may have a harder or slower time getting off the ground than normal. However, in the long run determination, perseverance, and hard work will always conquer no matter what the circumstances.

There are always going to be things that are out of our direct control, so it is best to not worry about those things. Focus on what we can control and let everything else fall in place. This is not my first business and probably won't be my last. I have had past success and past failure, but I'm not afraid to admit that. We all learn as we go and it is the failures that teach us the most sometimes.

If you are struggling with a new Internet business or any business for that matter, remember that you are not alone. Your hard work will pay off if you stick to it. The biggest mistake most people make is giving up too early. They start out motivated and let that motivation slowly slip as time takes its' toll and the sales are few and far in-between. I urge all you other entrepreneurs out there to keep at it and follow your dreams! No one can stop you, except for you. If you ever need some business advice or just a fellow entrepreneur to talk with, our lines of communication are wide open. Good luck!

Scott
Pensacola Website Design

Professional SEO Consultant

If you are one of those people who like to "get your hands dirty" so-to-speak, then you may be interested in doing your own search engine optimization. While SEO is a combination of art & science, it is a topic than can be learned by those willing to spend the time and hard work. If you do decide to do your own search engine optimization, than I recommend at least getting some advice from a professional SEO consultant.

SEO consulting has become increasingly popular over the last few years due to the increased demand in Internet Marketing and online business and in general. An SEO consultant can give you as little or as much advice as you require in order to do your own natural search marketing. Some companies charge by the hour for this service, while others charge a flat rate. No matter how they charge, a professional is normally worth they money.

We like to do a custom quote for each project as every individual situation tends to be a little different. Each market, website, and circumstance tends to be unique and requires a planned approach in order to be efficient and meet your goals. Also, we understand that not everyone needs the same level of help or attention. You may be up to speed on most search engine topics and only require very specific information to help improve your current website rankings.

On the other hand, you may be brand new at marketing your website and require a full "hands on" approach that starts with the very basics of SEO. No matter what your unique situation may be, we are willing to work with you. No job is too big or too small for us at Teknek Web Services. We are ready and willing to work for a Fortune 500 company selling stock, or for the little old lady next door selling yarn.

Could you use a little help with SEO? How well is your website ranked in the search engines? Please feel free to contact us at anytime to discuss your particular website marketing needs. This may sound a little cliché, but here at Teknek Web Services we do what we love and we love what we do. Our passion shows in our work and we'd love for you to benefit from our knowledge and energy. Give us a call or fill out our contact form.


Scott
Pensacola Website Design

Average SEO Prices

Doing business on the Internet has several advantages over "brick and mortar" businesses. One of these advantages is the ability to quickly compare the prices and services of your main competitors. We offer several website services, with one of the most important ones being seo (search engine optimization.) To keep our prices within the industry standard, we routinely check around to stay current on the average seo prices that professionals are charging.

There are several different aspects to an seo project and "one size fits all" is definitely not applicable to this industry. Many factors determine the amount of time and hard work that it will take to properly optimize a website and get it to the top of Google and other search engines. We occasionally get asked why we do not post prices on our website and the reason is because of the uniqueness of each project.

However you do need a baseline or a start for comparison, especially if you are new to purchasing seo services. Many companies make you sign a 6 month contract minimum and this is because proper seo takes time and there is no "overnight solution" (except for PPC). A lot of the big optimization companies charge prices so high, that they are basically refusing to work with the "little guy." It is not uncommon to see prices of $500 - $1,000 per hour or $3,000 per month with a minimum 6 month contract. We started this business with the "little guy" in mind so that they can have a chance to succeed too, so I can assure you that our prices will blow these guys out of the water, while still achieving the same results!

We do business a little bit differently than the norm. We don't require an upfront contract. We normally work on a one-time upfront fee and than after you see the results that we get for your business, we'll offer the monthly maintenance contract to keep your listings strong and at the top. Customers seem to be very comfortable with this pricing model as they are not committed to a strict contract from the very beginning...if they don't like what we do, they are not obligated to stay. However, we always over-deliver on what we promise because we want to keep you as a customer.

I actually read a nice article about average seo pricing at:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/seo-pricing-costs-what-should-you-charge-how-much-should-you-pay
It seems as if we are on the "low end" of his pricing structure and even a little lower in some situations. As I said before, we customize bids because of how unique each situation, market, and website may be.

When you hire us to do a website marketing / seo project we are dedicated to providing you with personal service and the best results possible. We normally only focus on one main SEO project at a time, at the beginning phase of a project a time so that we can dedicate our full resources to getting the website off the ground and listed in the search results. One of the things that makes us so successful in website marketing, design, and all the services we offer is that we are doing what we love. This really doesn't even feel like work most of the time (don't tell my wife that because she may get jealous.)

When you hire a company it is important that you feel comfortable with them. We pride ourselves in providing big company results, at small company pricing. Won't you appreciate knowing that the guys working on your website and search engine results love what they are doing? You can be assured that we are putting our whole heart and soul into each project that we take on. We will do so while staying within or lower than average seo prices!

With that being said, we don't take every project that comes our way. We always do a free analysis, or free E-quote to determine if we can and want to work on a particular project. If we don't truly believe we can over-deliver on the results promised to you, we just won't take the job. This way you know that if we take your project, we are doing so with full faith in our abilities to give you the results that you need.

Scott
Pensacola Website Design

Elmer's Glue & Website Marketing

So, my wife started a new night job recently where she is working until 6am in the morning. She gets home around 6:30AM and the kids were still asleep as was I when she got here this Sunday morning. I got up, made the kids something to eat and then went upstairs to check emails and do my daily website marketing routine for my websites.

Well, when I decided to take a break, (which just so happened to be when my 7 year old son was yelling out something) I came downstairs to find glue all over my 42" plasma TV! Well, what happened is that my 3 year old son found a bottle of good old Elmer's Glue and decided to smear it all over the TV and furniture around the living room! Good times!

My wife is gonna freak when she wakes up! I just spent the last hour cleaning up the mess (yes it has taken me that long.) I learned that on some surfaces it is easier to let the glue dry and then peel it off, instead of smearing around wet glue, a little tip I learned from doing a search on Google and thank God it appears as if I'm not the first one to experience this.

I sure love me kids, but it's easy to freak out during moments like this! But I've got to take a step back and realize that the little man is only 3. I shouldn't have left him by himself long enough to do that! I thought my 7 year old and him would stay entertained with the activities I started them on (no those activities had nothing to do with glue) but he's only 7, I can't blame him.

Instead of getting all upset, I did calm down and then explain to the kids why this in not good behavior! I obviously have to take the responsibility here because it happened on my watch. Lesson learned...I cannot yet leave the kids alone for too long and be upstairs working...I need to transfer my website marketing work to my laptop and hang out around the kids so that this kind of craziness doesn't happen again! I sure am getting my payback from the things I did to my parents!

Scott
Pensacola Website Design